To compare real-life performance we shot the
same scene with the Sony Alpha DSLR A200 and the Canon EOS 400D / XTi within
a few moments of each other using their Auto modes, best quality JPEG and lowest ISO settings.
Both models were fitted with their respective kit lenses set to f8 and adjusted to deliver the same field of view.

The image left was taken with the Sony Alpha DSLR A200 at 22mm f8 and with a sensitivity of 100 ISO; the original JPEG measured 4.34 MB. The crops are taken from the upper left, center, lower right and lower left portions of the originals and presented here at 100%. The A200's DRO was set to the default Standard.

Apart from a difference in colour balance, the two DSLRs delivered remarkably similar results here when equipped with their kit lenses and default settings. There's arguably a little more foliage detail on the Sony crops, but it's certainly a very close-run thing and we'd be satisfied saying that in this particular test, both cameras essentially delivered the same amount of real-life detail.

Scroll down for a JPEG and RAW comparison from the Alpha A200, or head on over to our A200 studio resolution results page.

We photographed the scene here in Large Fine JPEG + RAW mode and have presented crops below from each file for comparison. The RAW file was converted using Sony's supplied Image Data Converter SR 2.0 using the default settings, then sent to Photoshop in 16 bits. This was then reduced to 8 bits and processed the same way as the original JPEG for presentation here.

The RAW file processed using the default settings (and with DRO set to On) appears virtually identical to the JPEG, although is a fraction sharper. Of course the benefit of shooting in RAW is having greater latitude to make adjustments, and Sony's supplied software gives you plenty of options including the ability to apply the D-Range optimiser with numerous settings, adjust the noise reduction and fine-tune sharpening. If you're willing to tweak, it's possible to achieve what most would consider to be superior results. Now let's look at the A200's studio-based resolution.